President Milanović after Meeting with the President of Albania: We have a problem if Albania can be a member of NATO, but cannot join the EU
“We have a problem if a country that is good enough, organized and well-led can be a member of NATO and at the same time, in progressing towards another association, the European Union, Albania cannot take even the first step,” the President of the Republic Zoran Milanović said after meeting with the President of the Republic of Albania Bajram Begaj, reiterating his full support for Albania’s admission into the European Union.
The President of the Republic Zoran Milanović, together with his spouse Sanja Musić Milanović, is paying a two-day state visit to the Republic of Albania, which started with a meeting with Albanian President Begaj.
Commenting on the circumstances of Albania’s negotiations with the European Union, President Milanović said: “Something in that concept is deeply illogical, fake and insincere. We made very little headway, and that says a lot about us, about the European Union, about our priorities. There is not much more I can do, but to say this in the hope that others will see it. I’m afraid that others see it, but they aren’t talking about it intentionally.” President Milanović reminded that he spoke about this matter at the General Debate of the United Nations General Assembly, where he also said that Kosovo should be recognized. “The whole of Europe knows this, but does not want to talk about it, which is very bad, unfair, useless and harmful for us,” added the Croatian President.
Regarding Serbia, President Milanović said that the country had stopped progressing in its EU accession negotiations, observing that it had obviously decided that the negotiations are not a priority, or that it had more important tasks. “I hope that provoking armed rebellion in Kosovo is not among those tasks,” he said.
On the other hand, in regard to Albania, President Milanović said that it is difficult to imagine what else the country could do – other than what it already did on its path toward the EU – without stepping on its own dignity and self-respect. “To remain what it is, a normal and proud country, and to try to be as cooperative, accommodating, agile and engaged as possible in fulfilling these conditions, which either change or are unclear. Croatia went through that school successfully and ably, it took a long time and was very expensive. As a country that was the last one which experienced the path of joining the European Union, we are less and less good advisers to the Albanians because too much time has passed,” stated the Croatian President.
In his statement to the media, President Milanović also commented on the “Berlin Process,” which was held in Tirana, with these words: “It is an initiative that was conceived by the Germans in 2015. I participated in the first meeting. I consulted with Angela Merkel about it and I tried to understand what was attempted to be achieved. I came to Berlin, Prime Minister Edi Rama came, then Prime Minister of Serbia Aleksandar Vučić came, and some other people from the region also came. Eight years later we still meet, talk, but the progress is weak,” President Milanović concluded.
PHOTO: Office of the President of the Republic of Croatia / Marko Beljan